Jo's Surgery Update #25

Tomorrow has been six weeks since Joanna's surgery. And yesterday she did a full exercise workout, including some mild situps. :)

Though there has been a few frustrating digestive things happening off and on, she seems to healing from her surgery very well.

Thanks so much for praying with us during this.

Unless something changes, this will probably be the last "Jo's Surgery Update" so I want to end it with a few thoughts:

The night we went into the ER, I went out to the car to get a few things (water, chapstick, lotion, etc.) for Joanna and on my way back in to the hospital I stopped and thought to myself, "If there were no God, if we were just random beings in a random, meaningless world that happened to bump into one another and happened to enjoy being around each other... And if 'survival of the fittest" is what really got us here, rather than the design and purpose of a loving God... Then the smartest thing I could do is go back to the car, get in, and drive away."

It's sobering to think of the reasonable conclusions we will come to if indeed life is random and meaningless. There is no real, meaningful obligation to one another, except that of our ability to stay strong and survive.

But, because that is not true, because there is a wise, loving, sovereign God who creates all and rules all with a purpose, there is joy in suffering. Because suffering does not catch God off guard, there is a deep, satisfied joy (not shallow happiness, but deep joy) that lasts through the heartache and suffering for those who trust in him and in his Son Jesus.

Paul said it like this, "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men." (1 Corinthians 15)

So, if this whole Jesus thing is an ugly, misguided hoax, then those who believe in it and trust their very souls to it, and let it affect all that they do in life (financially, socially, spiritually, etc) are to be pitied more than all men.

But, if it is true. If Jesus is who he claimed to be, fully God and fully man. And if he accomplished in his death what he claimed he would ("a ransom for many" mark 10) then we should all be sober and silent and humble knowing that today is a day to remember his death. The death that we deserved because of our disobedient rebellion (sin) toward God. The death he is willing to apply to cover our sin. And if he did indeed rise from the dead three days later proving that death could not have the last word, then we should reflect on how we have responded toward that fact.

We cannot be neutral toward Christ. We must either believe his death applied to us, trust that it was sufficient to cover our sin, and turn to hate our sin. Or, we must refuse him and continue to be against him and against his plan to save us from the just judgment of God.

These may be heavy issues, but think about it; If this were not true, what point would there be in me going back into the hospital six weeks ago? If you are honest, none.

either pitied or ransomed,
Clint & Jo

Jo's Surgery Update #24

Joanna saw her surgeon's physician assistant on Wednesday, and then her GI doc this afternoon. Both are very encouraged at how fast Joanna is healing from the surgery and think she should be back to 90% in a couple more weeks.

Her GI is kind of at a loss about what to do next, but really wants to try and make sure this doesn't happen again. We are hopeful that the diet Joanna has found recently will help to control intestinal inflammation, and that this kind of thing won't happen for a long time (or better yet, ever again).

Her GI doc did ask if we'd be open to going to see a specialist in Chicago or Rochester (MN) to get a second opinion on why she didn't respond to the drug therapy she was on before things went sour. We are considering that, but in the mean time her doctor wants to run some more tests to see what things look like in there after surgery.

We praise God as he gives and takes away. He really is great, and we love him. He is faithful to provide for his people through good times and bad times. And he cares way more about our souls than our bodies. So join us in praising him for keeping us faithful through this and whatever else he may bring.

Even as we trust him through sickness, we do want to ask him that the inflammation would be minimal now and stay that way for a while. We desire to be off drug thearapy if at all possible, but realize that drugs can save lives and delay complications. Or rather, God can use drugs to do those things. And whether he chooses to or not, we want to be faithful and satisfied.

moore grace and peace,

C&J

Jo's Surgery Update #23

Hello everyone!

Joanna went all day today without pain medications! woo hoo!

She has an appointment with the surgeon for followup, and besides a few minor drug side affects, we are very encouraged by how she's doing.

We will let you all know how the appointment goes.

Thanks for praying with us.

C&J

Jo's Surgery Update #22

Things are looking up around here. :)

The pink area seems to be going away day by day, and the leakage seems to be slowing down quite a bit as well. Jo's feeling better today than the last few for sure!

We may even venture out for a movie this afternoon. We'll see. :)

Joanna has been able to walk around the whole complex 3 times today (most ever).

She still has a mild lingering pain in her side that makes deep breathes kind of difficult, but hopefully the docs will have something to say about it on Wednesday at her appointment (if it doesn't go away by then).

Joanna's mom has been a steady comforter and provider the last week and half, without which we don't know what we would do. Thanks Kay! And thanks for sharing her Joe!

Thanks for praying with us! May God's grace and peace be with you friends.

Clint

Jo's Surgery Update #21

We've had a few setbacks over the last couple of days.

I went down Tuesday night with some sort of gnarly stomach problem. I'm hoping it is not a contagious virus that has been passed around at church some recently, but rather what I ate Tuesday night. I ate differently than Kay and Joanna so hopefully that is what it was. Regardless, from 10PM Tuesday through 8AM Wednesday I became the patient and Joanna became the nurse. I finally took a strong anti nausea pill at 8 and was able to sleep some. After resting I felt much better, and today I feel almost 100%.

Also, yesterday we decided that a mild pink color that had been slowly getting worse on the lower part of her incision was worthy of a doctor phone call. His PA called her into the office. She gave Joanna a 10 day antibiotic to fight off any potential infection that might be brewing and told her to call again if it got worse at all.

Another bothersome issue is that all of her sterry(sp?) strips have come off (which they were due to) but one little place has started leaking a small amount of fluid. The PA told us to keep an eye on that too, but it got worse last night and we had to change her bandage multiple times. It seems to have stopped this morning (while she's laying down) but we are nervous that as soon as she stands up again it may start up. So we have a call into the doc already and are waiting for a call back.

Pray with us that Jo won't have an infection. If she does, they will probably have to go into the incision again which makes healing much more difficult. We are also praying that if indeed that is God's will that he would keep us faithful and teach us more patience.

We will keep you updated. Thanks for sticking with us.

"Your kingdom come,
Your will be done."

C&J

Jo's Surgery Update #20

Sorry we haven't posted in a while. But Joanna is slowly getting stronger and stronger.

She has done moore and moore laps every day this week! Today she walked around the block 3 times this morning with her mom! Then she walked with me around the block 4 moore times! woo hoo!!! She's really trying to work on her posture while walking because the tightness of her incision discourages good posture.

Jo has had some itchiness in her chest when she lays down, and as you can imagine coughing is not at all a friendly experience.

We have a friend who is a physical therapist who has offered her service to help Jo think about what she can and cannot and should and should not be doing so far. She is planning to come and see Joanna tomorrow so we are looking forward to that.

We are praying that all of you will be joyful in God with us, through this!

Moore where this came from,
C&J

Jo's Surgery Update #19

There have been a few frustrations and discomforts over the last 24 hrs, but like the stock market (used to be), the general trend is up despite the immediate ups and downs. :)

Joanna was able to walk around the block twice today! woo hoo! Now, we don't have a very long block, but it was an accomplishment none the less. We are looking forward to 3 times around tomorrow!

Jo's mom arrived today and we are blessed to have her here to help out with caring for Joanna.

Thanks for praising God with us.

Moore laps tomorrow!

C&J

Jo's Surgery Update #18

Joanna has been able to rest here at home well. She does have some lingering discomfort and pain despite the medications, but overall she is getting better each day. She slept pretty well last night and has been up and around most of today. She is resting now because laying down is less painful than sitting up. She continues to eat soups, juices, and some solid foods. It all seems to be moving through ok.

Joanna's sister Jen has been so very helpful for the last couple of days taking care of the house and helping Joanna get things done that she needed to before this all happened. We will miss her when she leaves tomorrow.

glad to be home,
C&J

Jo's Surgery Update #17

Joanna got discharged from the hospital this morning!

We are packing up our things and headed for the door. Jo's sister Jenn is already there making things a little more comfortable for her. We are ready to be home.

The doctor continues to be happy with her progress and wants to see her in two weeks at his office down town.

We cannot thank you all enough for praying for us and for helping us out. As of today we've been here 10 days and haven't had to worry about one meal. This has freed me and others to focus our attention on helping Joanna and making her comfortable. God has clearly provided for our needs through his people. Thank you for being the instruments through which God has richly blessed us! We cannot help but recall one of the word pictures God uses to describe his church: a body.

^{Romans 12:4}Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ⁶We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.

^{1 Cor 12:12}The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.
¹⁴Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. ¹⁵If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. ¹⁶And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. ¹⁷If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. ¹⁹If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

²¹The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" ²²On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, ²⁴while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, ²⁵so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Thanks for suffering with us.

We will continue to update this blog as Joanna continues to heal. Thank you for sticking with us.

No Moore hospital,

C&J

Jo's Surgery Update #16

The good news is Jo is eating solid foods right now! Grilled chicken and vegetables. And the doc says that if she handles them well, then she may go home tomorrow! :)

The bad news is Jo layed off the pain meds a little early. By late yesterday she was ready for some more and has committed to stay on them for a while. They make her rest more comfortable and her walks more bearable.

So she is resting some more today and continuing to walk laps around the floor. She just did 6 laps.

Yesterday she did 19 laps!!!

Thanks for praying for us! We are so so so grateful for the thoughts, prayers, and encouragement. We are most of all thankful for God's grace, his unmerited favor, through pain and sickness.

Moore to come,
C&J

Jo's Surgery Update #15

We got to sleep in some today and even took a nap later in the morning. :)

No real pain for Joanna today, only discomfort here and there. She is still slow moving around but can last longer and longer each day when it comes to laps around the med surg floor.

She's actually able to read the blog now, so any notes you'd like to drop her she will be able to read herself now.

The doc on call came by this morning and said the discomfort is normal and that she seems to be healing very well. He put her on a FULL LIQUID diet which meant pureed vegetable soup and carrot juice and fruit juice. She cannot take in too much at a time because she gets full sort of fast. But things seem to be moving through well enough for now. That doctor also indicated that she may be able to go home as early as Monday! woo hoo!

The actual surgeon that performed her surgery just now came by and said he is very happy with her progress. We got to ask him more about what he saw during surgery and his answers were helpful for our understanding of the situation. It boils down to the fact that the surgery saved her life. Her small intestine had sprung a small leak based on localized inflammation. He was able to remove the problem area and put her back together. Though emergency surgery is never preferred over elective, well timed surgery, we are grateful for this doctor and his work, and we are hopeful for the future.

We know that even as God heals Joanna from this surgery and hopefully for a long time to come, he has also promised that death to these bodies will come. We have found the comfort of Christ and his power over death to be acutely strengthening in this time. We pray that even as bowels and bodies fail we will stay hopeful in Jesus and the eternal glory that he has promised to satisfy us with in the end.

"To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. ¹⁰That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." - 2 Corinthians 12

Delighting in Weakness,
C&J

Jo's Surgery Update #14

Joanna was moved out of ICU today into her own room. It's really nice because we can close the door and relax. We had sort of settled in some there so uprooting was a little bit of a process. It's clear that Joanna is getting better and better. They've switched over from IV meds to pill form.

Every day she has been able to be out of bed longer and walk farther than the day before. She really seems to be on an upward slope of healing.

We were both able to get a much needed nap this afternoon, and the help and blessing from friends and family is never ending. God is good and he works through his people greatly.

The doctor indicated today (indirectly) that it may be a couple more days here int he hospital. They are taking such good care of her and she is able to get rest, so we are ok with that for now.

C&J

Jo's Surgery Update #13

Jo had a good night and a good day so far. The doctors continue to be encouraged by her progress. She is continuing on the clear liquid diet today and they may give her full liquids tomorrow. She is having pretty strong pain here and there, but the doctor says that it all is normal for after a surgery like this. They are controlling the pain well and she is resting now. No commitments from the doc, but it sounds like at least 2 more days in the hospital.

Thanks for praying with us!

C&J

Jo's Surgery Update #12

Today was another good day. They seem to be getting better everyday. Jo was able to walk more and more, rest more comfortably, and even laugh a little more (painfully).

We are very encouraged by her progress.

The doctor put her on the clear liquid diet today and she did very well. Everything seems to be moving forward. So she will probably do full liquids tomorrow starting at lunch. Things aren't working perfectly yet, and the pain is still pretty significant. But we are looking forward in hope.

Thank you all so much for praying, loving, and giving. God is good.

C&J

Jo's Surgery Update #11

Jo's tummy seems to be waking up! So that is the good news. The bad news is it is not a fun experience. :( She had a pretty rough night. We were up for a couple of hrs dealing with that last night, so she is sleeping it off now.

Hopefully the doc will come in today and put her on a clear liquid diet.

They've had to change her IV site multiple times since she's been here and that has not been fun either. Lots of poking and searching. :(

Jo is seriously the toughest person I've ever known. She's been through lots in the last few days, and the road to recover is still long. Pray to God with us that "we (will) not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. (And that) we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2Corinthians 14:16-18

Moore this afternoon,
C&J

Jo's Surgery Update #10

Hi everyone!

Jo has had a pretty eventful morning. Her nurse came in ready to rock and roll and get Joanna up and going. She had her walk the floor again, and again, and again. Then she had her sit up in her chair for an extended period. The doc strolled in around this time and was really encouraged about her progress. He ordered the NG tube out of her nose and the monitors off her chest. She still has the IV and will until they know she can eat.

They are still waiting on the bowels to wake up. They are pretty quite right now. Once they do, they should be able to start feeding her a clear liquid diet. Jo's feeling pretty hungry. She hasn't 'eaten' since Friday night!

Praise God with us that the NG tube is out, and it seems like Jo is healing well. Please continue to pray with us that He will start her tummy back up soon so that she can start eating.

Thanks for sticking with us.

God is good.

Moore progress,
C&J

Jo's Surgery Update #9

Woo Hoo! Jo was able to get up (with some help) and walk right out of her ICU room (with some walker help) and then headed right out of the ICU area into the med surg area (with a slow steady pace) and then walked all the way around the med surg area!!!!

The walk was pretty painful, but she was able to push right on through! It really was impressive. She didn't even stop to rest. :)

Praise God for granting strength and patience to endure pain. The nurse says this will mean a lot to the doctor and will help wake up her stomach and bowels. They are still sleeping from the surgery. Once they wake up, she can get the silly NG tube out of her nose, which is very annoying.

Praise God with us that he is healing and ask Him to continue to heal. And ask that we remain faithful whatever His will brings.

Moore and Moore
C&J

Jo's Surgery Update #8

The afternoon was pretty uneventful. Jo tried to lay off the medicine some because they were making her dizzy when she sat up. She was able to sit up well today, and now the nurse wants her to walk! Like right now. So I've got to go...

Moore in a minute,

C&J

Jo's Surgery Update #7

Jo's doing well so far today. Last night was kinda long with the nurse needing to come in every hour to check her temperature to make sure she was still doing ok with the transfusion. Getting comfortable after being woke up proved difficult some times. She was able to rest quite a bit this morning after the nurse shift change.

Her blood results came back about an hour ago and it looks like the transfusion worked very well.

She's sitting up in her chair right now and feeling ok. She has some dizziness from the pain meds, but other than that she is pretty comfortable.

The doc visited around 10 today and said he plans to keep her in ICU tonight again. Which we really don't mind because it is a guaranteed private room for now. Once she goes to 'the floor' she may have a roommate.

Thank you all for the constant stream of grace and help. We are so so so thankful to you and to God for you!

Moore coming right up,

C&J

Jo's Surgery Update #6

Just a quick note before bed. Jo is handling the transfusion very well so far, and its been going in for about 2 hrs already. The nurse sped it up after 1 hr and will continue to watch her through the night. I, on the other hand, will be sleeping. The nurse says she'll wake me if something changes.

Jo is sleeping pretty heavy right now. She seems comfortable (despite all the chords running in, out, and over her).

Moore in the morning.

C&J

Jo's Surgery Update #5

Jo had good day today. She was much more alert, which meant more interaction, but also more discomfort. She really likes that magic medicine button when the pain picks up.

The nurses have been keeping a close eye on her all day for signs of infection or other issues. Her nurse just came in and said that her red blood cell count has been pretty low since the surgery and that the doctor wants her to get a blood transfusion. This explains some dizziness she has had this evening, and will hopefully help with that as well as the rest of the recovery process.

Pray with us that God would cause her body to get along with the new blood and not have an adverse reaction to it. They will do all they can to make sure that doesn't happen before hand, but the risk is still there.

They will come back in an hour or so and begin the transfusion. They will take it slow at first to make sure it isn't being rejected, and then speed it up after a while.

So, this is an official "thank you" from Jo's family and friends to the individual who took time out of their day to donate blood. And it is a reminder to us all of the importance of donating blood. Jo had a transfusion a couple of years ago and it really helped. So we are looking forward to this, then a restful night.

And this is an official "thank you" to the one who gave his blood to cover our rebellion.

"To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen" Revelation1:6

Moore tomorrow.
C&J

Jo's Surgery Update #4

Jo had a good night last night. She was able to sleep for long periods, with only a couple of times when she woke up and needed to shift positions. The nurse said she used her magic medicine button a few more times last night than before, so there was some more pain discomfort than the previous night.

The doctor came in bright and early at 6AM today. He was really encouraged that she has no signs of infection and that she was able to sit up for longer periods and was practicing her deep breathing. He took off her belly bandage and looked at the incision. He liked what he saw and decided to leave the bandage off. He said that he will probably keep her in the ICU one more night because they do such a good job of watching her closely. I'm glad, because they really do a wonderful job in there of keeping their eye on her. Doc says she's still not out of the woods for an infection, but that each day that goes by lessens the chances.

She just now finished sitting up for 2 hrs straight in a chair and did really well. Getting in and out of bed is the toughest part because of all those sore stomach muscles, but she is a trooper. She's back in bed now and ready to sleep the afternoon away. She REALLY enjoys the ice chips she's allowed to have now and REALLY REALLY enjoys being able to get her teeth brushed and then rinsing her mouth. She likes to do 6 7 rinses because it feels so good. No food or drink yet. They want to make sure her tummy wakes up and is healed enough for food. So they may start liquids tomorrow or the next day. We will see.

Kay (Jo's Mom) and I are sharing the rotation today. And friends are dropping by at meal times to chat and refresh us. What a great thing!

We are praising God for his faithful provision of rest, healing, and minimal pain. The hospital staff are patient and helpful. Our friends and family have an unrelenting desire to bless us. What more could we ask.

God is great and greatly to be praised!

Clint & Jo

Jo's Surgery Update #3

Hi all,

Joanna had a good day today. The surgeon came by and was happy to see how she was feeling and looking. He ordered her out of bed twice every 24 hrs. So, with some help, she got up this morning and sat in a chair upright for a couple of hours. Then, just now she did it again. Other than that she has been sleeping most of the day in between hand and footrubs from momma, Sara, and me.

Not too much pain today. And she hasn't had to use her pain medication too much either. Overall it seemed like a good day of rest and healing. Thanks for praying for her. We are indeed blessed.

The doc also wants her practicing deep breathing every hour or so for 10 mins. This helps her lungs stay healthy and free of pneumonia. Doc says infection is the main risk right now so rest is important. She's been able to whisper in order to help us know how to make her more comfy.

Please pray that she would have another comfortable, restful night. And that tomorrow would bring more healing. They've let me sleep on a chair/couch here in her ICU room, so that is nice. And her nurses have been greatly patient and helpful. They will probably keep her one more night in ICU (tomorrow) and then move her to her own room.

Thanks for helping us and praying for us. We are so thankful for the clear grace (unearned favor) of God through his people to love and care for us.

Moore tomorrow.

C&J

Jo's Surgery Update #2

Hi all,

Joanna had a restful night. Laying down in one place for so long has its irritations of course. I talked to the nurse this morning and he says sleeping is the best thing for her right now. They are watching her close to make sure she doesn't get any infections from the surgery. We are rotating to keep her company (mom, Sara, and I) and our main tasks are giving her a wet swab stick for her mouth and keeping her hand rag wet and cool for her mouth and forehead. Other than that we are reading, praying, waiting, and encouraging her to rest all she can.

Again, if you are looking for a practical way to bless us right now, it is to feed us (so that we don't have to stop with Jo and think through how to make lunch or dinner happen).

So if you'd like to help out with this, please shoot Meghan an email at mlmucher@liberty.edu or call her at 505-506-5971. She is helping by coordinating this.

We love you all and praise God we have such an amazing group of family and friends around us.

Moore to come.
C&J

Jo's Surgery Update #1

Hey everyone,

Just a quick note here to catch everyone up. Joanna had some pretty severe abdominal pain after dinner last night. It kept getting worse and worse with no relief. We headed into the ER about 9PM Friday night. After running tests, they decided that it was not an obstructed bowel like before, but that she did have some foreign fluid in her abdomen. Long story short... their last resort was an exploratory surgery to find the source of the fluid and fix it up.

They operated on my hunny at around 11AM Saturday, and it took about 3 hrs total. Without getting into too much detail; they found the source and fixed it up. It was a pretty intrusive surgery, so her recovery time is going to be significant (1-2 days in ICU, 5-6 days in hospital room, then 5-6 weeks of recovery at home). Jo is resting now and has a constant supply of pain medication to help her rest.

Though it was a scary ordeal, God was faithful to love and teach us through this. We had some sweet times of praying and reading His word while we waited for the final decision to operate. We can never fully express our gratitute for all the love, hope, and prayers you all have shared with us, and we are humbled that God would have such grace on us through you!

So many of you have texted or called asking how you can help. Well, rather than just saying, ah, nothing for now... and leaving it at that, Meghan has volunteered to help organize folks dropping by at meal times to chat. Because quite honestly, if you are looking for a practical way to bless me and Joanna's mom right now, it is to feed us (so that we don't have to stop with Jo and think through how to make lunch or dinner happen.

So if you'd like to help out with this, please shoot Meghan an email at mlmucher@liberty.edu.

I can't promise you will be able to see Joanna (that will depend on her status and alertness, doc says lots of rest in the coming days for her) but I'm more than willing to chat and would love to pray together.

Besides coming here, the other most practical way you can help is simply by praying for Jo. Her body needs to heal up. And so does her heart. She's been through a lot, and it can get discouraging for her. Pray that God's peace and healing power would surround her as she rests. Please pray for endourance for Kay (Jo's mom) and I as we spend most of our days by her side. Pray that the way we (Jo, Kay, and I) handle sickness and health is a testimony to God's goodness through suffering. God is great, and Greatly to be praised!

Love you all! Can't believe we are so blessed.

Most updates from now on will be simply to say how her healing is progressing, and to share updated prayer requests.

Be strong in Christ,
Clint

Romans 8:18-39

ESVSB around the World!

If you have not yet looked into the new English Standard Version Study Bible, it really is amazing.  God has graciously brought together an amazing group of minds and hearts to better help His church, by His Holy Spirit, understand His Word.

It's pretty big though...

So massive, in fact, that it caused concern at the Frankfort Airport for Brother Campbell.  :)  They singled out his bag after the X-ray machine and had him pull out the monster resource.  My guess is one of the countries coming up may take it away.  Any bets?

Frigid in Philly...

Philly Cheese Steak!

After missing the more 'hometown favorite' we had to settle for the tourist trap version of the Philly Cheese Steak in downtown Philly.  mmmmmm.....  After the sandwiches, we got the soccer mom rental van tour of downtown Philly monuments. 

Chow Down in Obama Town

First stop on our trip around the world, Obamaville!  Had to have a Chicago SuperDog!  It was that or some Chicago style pizza that looked like it had been there a few hours too long.  Check out the frame by frame documentation of the chow down.

Check out my wheels!

I bought this beaut from a buddy who was headed overseas for a few years. It was almost perfect timing. It was September, gas prices were pushing $4 per gallon, and the economy was on the verge of collapse. So I did what any rational capitalist would do.... downgrade to something more fun, much slower, way more efficient, and way more dangerous. :)

Don't worry though, I can go 40 mph downhill (on the way to work) and almost 35 mph uphill (eventually). I do try to find the less traveled roads on my way home. And you can't beat 120 miles per gallon in the city and squashed on the highway.

Now if I could just get a Biker Gang to invite me into their neat club, then I'd be set.